The M8 High-Speed Tractor was an
artillery tractor
An artillery tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, is a specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights and calibres. It may be 6x6, wheeled, continuous track, tracked, or half-tracked.
Trac ...
used by the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
and Marine Corps from 1950.
Construction
The M8 is a full-track tractor based on the chassis of the
M41 Walker Bulldog
The M41 Walker Bulldog, officially 76-mm Gun Tank, M41, was an American light tank developed for armed reconnaissance purposes. It was produced by Cadillac between 1951 and 1954 and marketed successfully to the United States Army as a replaceme ...
light tank. It was used to tow cargo trailers and artillery such as the
Skysweeper
The M51 Skysweeper (Gun, M51, Antiaircraft or Gun automatic, 75-mm T83E6, and E7, recoil mechanism, and loader rammer) was an Anti-aircraft warfare, anti-aircraft gun deployed in the early 1950s by both the United States Army, U.S. Army and Un ...
75 mm anti-aircraft gun and the
M59 Long Tom gun. The basic M8 variant could be quickly adapted for carrying projectiles and charges. Unusually for a tractor, the M8's engine was located at the front of the cab. Some M8s were equipped with a hydraulic M5
dozer blade
A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous tracks, ...
.
History
The M8 was developed following the failure of the T33 cargo-carrier, which was based on the
M24 Chaffee
The M24 Chaffee (officially Light Tank, M24) was an American light tank used during the later part of World War II; it was also used in post–World War II conflicts including the Korean War, and by the French in the War in Algeria and the Firs ...
light tank chassis. The new, standardized M8 was produced between 1950 and 1955.
See also
*
G-numbers
This is the Group G series List of the United States military vehicles by (Ordnance) supply catalog designation, — ''one'' of the alpha-numeric "Standard Nomenclature Lists" (SNL) that were part of the overall List of the United States Army w ...
(G-252)
*
M-numbers
The following is a (partial) listing of vehicle model numbers or M-numbers assigned by the United States Army. Some of these designations are also used by other agencies, services, and nationalities, although these various end users usually assig ...
References
*
* TM 9-7406
* SNL G266
{{Post-WWII US Soft Vehicles
Artillery tractors
Military vehicles of the United States
Military vehicles introduced in the 1950s